In order to install a threaded dental implant into the jawbone of a patient, the gingival tissue is incised and the jawbone is exposed. A series of drills are then used to form a cylindrical bore (referred as the osteotomy) in the bone. Once the osteotomy is prepared, the distal end of the implant is positioned in the bore, and a driving tool is used to rotate and drive the implant into the osteotomy.
In some instances, a fixture mount is attached to the top of the implant with a retaining screw. The fixture mount serves as an intermediate member between the implant and driving tool. The driving tool directly engages the fixture mount and imparts torque to it to drive the implant. When no fixture mount is used, a distal end of the driving tool directly engages the coronal end of the implant.
During the implantation procedure, a manual or hand-held driving tool can be used to drive the dental implant into the osteotomy. Typically, such driving tools include a proximal end with a hand-grip and a long shaft that has a distal end for driving the implant. Often, the distal end connects to a dental driver that, in turn, directly connects to the implant or fixture mount. This distal end may have, for example, a square geometry with a retention feature that engages and holds the dental driver.
Conventional manual driving tools have many disadvantages. In order to drive the implant into the jawbone, the surgeon must repeatedly turn or twist the end of the driving tool. Many hand and wrist rotations may be required to fully seat a threaded implant into the osteotomy. Surgeons are prone to get carpal tunnel syndrome from this repeated, twisting motion.
Threaded dental implants need to be placed into the osteotomy with precision. In this regard, unnecessary lateral movement of the implant should be avoided as the implant is driven into the bone. Lateral movement, especially in soft or cancellous bone, can disrupt proper placement of the implant and hinder osseointegration with surrounding bone and tissue.
Conventional manual dental driving tools are also prone to impart unnecessary lateral movement to implants during placement. Specifically, in order to rotate and drive the implant, the surgeon must repeatedly grip and re-grip the end of driving tool handle. While the handle is being gripped and re-gripped, the surgeon forgoes some control of the handle. In these instances, the handle can slip or otherwise accidentally move in the surgeon's hand. Unnecessary movement of the handle can impart large, unwanted movements to the implant since the implant is connected to the handle via a long fulcrum or arm.
It would be advantageous to have a dental driving tool that could be used to manually drive the implant into the osteotomy but did not have the disadvantages of prior devices.